GUNPO — Gunpo, in Gyeonggi Province, covers just 36.42 square kilometers, making it the third-smallest city in South Korea. Home to about 250,000 people, it also houses the Gunpo Integrated Logistics Terminal, the largest logistics hub in the greater Seoul area. Since opening in 1997, the terminal has served for nearly three decades as a backbone of the national logistics network. As the city grew, however, complaints mounted over traffic congestion and noise from heavy truck traffic, and residents increasingly argued that the terminal was holding back the city's development. Gunpo has now decided to push in earnest for its relocation.
In a recent interview with Seoul Economic Daily, Gunpo Mayor Han Dae-hee said the current arrangement is "a structure in which the whole country enjoys the benefits of national policy while only Gunpo residents bear the costs." The mayor added that relocating the terminal is necessary "to maintain the efficiency of the national logistics system while reducing a burden concentrated in one particular area."
The Gunpo terminal occupies a site of 701,571 square meters. Adjacent to the East Gunpo and Gunpo interchanges, it has become a key facility linking Incheon International Airport, Pyeongtaek Port and other gateways in the capital region. It was built on state-owned land held by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport under a build-operate-transfer arrangement and is run by Korea Integrated Logistics.
The local burden stands in contrast to the terminal's national role. "More than 20,000 vehicles pass through each day, including about 7,000 heavy trucks, causing considerable inconvenience for residents through traffic congestion, noise and road damage," Han said. A study commissioned by the city estimated the social costs from traffic delays, noise and fine dust at about 85 billion won ($58 million) a year. Local tax revenue from the terminal, by contrast, comes to less than 5 billion won a year, according to the city.
Han said the problem is tied to a broader pattern in which state-led development projects have narrowed the city's room to grow on its own terms. "In the 35 to 36 years since Gunpo was elevated to city status, more than 20% of its usable land has been taken for national-level development projects," he said. Successive projects including the Sanbon new town and the Daeyami, Songjeong and Bugok districts raised demand for population and infrastructure while leaving the city with too little space of its own to use, according to the mayor.
Gunpo sees 2028, when the terminal's first operating period ends, as the turning point for relocation talks, with the aim of ending logistics operations at the current site by 2042 at the latest. "I know changing the national logistics plan is not easy, but that is a problem for the central government to solve," Han said.
The city is not calling for logistics functions to be eliminated outright. Han proposed alternatives such as distributed logistics facilities linked to industrial complexes or vertical logistics facilities. Gunpo plans to draw up legal and administrative measures in the second half of the year and to consult with relevant agencies on when operations should end and how the city might take part in management.
Alongside the relocation, Han is focusing on reshaping the city's urban space. Gunpo plans to accelerate redevelopment and rebuilding in its aging original downtown and the Sanbon new town, and to develop the area around Geumjeong Station, a stop on the Great Train Express (GTX)-C line, into a new center combining transport, commercial and cultural functions. The city is also pursuing plans to move the railway and National Route 47 that cut across the city underground, and to restore the Sanbon Stream. The terminal site is envisioned as a mixed-use district combining advanced industry with housing and cultural facilities.
Han previously served as Gunpo mayor before losing the 2022 local elections. He won back the post in this year's vote, returning to city hall after four years. From his first term, he pursued the GTX-C line, the Geumjeong Station development and the renewal of the old downtown as priorities. After taking office for his current term, his first approvals created an urban renewal bureau and a youth affairs office, and he has toured the city's 12 administrative districts to gather residents' views.
"No matter who the president is or which party is in power, a mayor has to make judgments based on the interests of residents," Han said. "Having been entrusted with city government again after four years, I will carry out my promises to residents one by one and devote all my capacity to building a Gunpo where residents can feel the change."